Patterned layers of aluminum serve widely as microminiature electrical circuitry for integrated-circuit semiconductor devices; typically, such layers have been made by evaporation or sputtering in a vacuum. While such physical deposition methods are capable of producing high-quality films, alternatives such as so-called chemical vapor deposition methods are receiving attention as potentially more suitable for large-scale commercial practice.
The field of film deposition is discussed extensively, e.g., in the book by J. L. Vossen et al., Thin Film Processes, Academic Press, 1978, and the following are typical items as addressed more specifically to various aspects of chemical vapor deposition methods:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,990,295, "Deposition of Aluminum", issued June 27, 1961 to E. R. Breining et al.; PA1 British patent specification No. 1,594,399, "Improvements in or Relating to Metal Deposition", published July 30, 1981 by R. A. H. Heinecke et al.; PA1 British patent specification No. 1,595,659, "Providing Conductive Tracks on Semiconductor Devices", published Aug. 12, 1981 by R. A. H. Heinecke et al.; PA1 British patent specification No. 1,595,660, "Corrosion Protection of Metal Surfaces", published Aug. 12, 1981 by T. M. Jackson et al.; PA1 British patent application No. 2,041,983, "Metallizing Semiconductor Devices", published Sept. 17, 1980 by R. A. H. Heinecke et al.; PA1 British patent application No. 2,038,883, "Metallizing Semiconductor Devices", published July 30, 1980 by R. H. A. Heinecke et al.; PA1 H. O. Pierson, "Aluminum Coatings by the Decomposition of Alkyls", Thin Solid Films, Vol. 45 (1977), pp. 257-263; PA1 M. J. Cooke et al., "LPCVD of Aluminum and Al-Si Alloys for Semiconductor Metallization", Solid State Technology, December 1982, pp. 62-65; and PA1 R. A. H. Heinecke et al., "Low-pressure Aluminum CVD", Proceedings of the Fourth European Conference on Chemical Vapor Deposition, 1983, pp. 119-121.